»The truth may be bitter, but it must be told« neck and pushed my head down into the water; I couldn’t breathe anymore. I was only pulled up after some time. ›Do you now know the colour and name of the boat?‹ I said ‘no’. He punched me twice in the face. The policeman behind me grabbed my arms again. I wanted to take a deep breath of air. The policeman in front of me asked ›do you remember now, or not?‹ I said no again. He grabbed my head and pushed it into the water. I was absolutely terrified. I thought I would not survive. When I came up again the policeman again asked, ›so you don’t remember?‹ I repeated that I did not. So then the policeman took a plastic bag and put it over my head. With one hand he tightened the bag around my neck. I couldn’t breathe anymore. They repeated the process of the plastic bag three times – every time they asked the same question. Then a policeman signalled with his hand: that’s enough.« Lesbos: Return of a minor to Turkey8 H. is a 17- year-old Afghan who, along with three other refugees from Afghanistan, was seized by the Greek coast guard close to the coast of the island Lesbos. The coast guard drove them back into open water and set them adrift in their dinghy. Their oars were taken from them. It was four hours before H. was rescued by the Turkish coast guard, and handed over to the police. On 6 June 2007 he was arrested and detained in Ayvacik. On the 19 July his brother, a recognised refugee in Sweden, found out that his little brother was imminently going to be returned to Afghanistan. H. was transferred to another prison in Istanbul. He was supposed to sign a declaration that he was returning to Afghanistan voluntarily. The removal was scheduled for the 20 July 2007. It was only the intervention of a Turkish lawyer, Taner Kilic, which prevented the chain Lesbos: We find a shredded rubber dinghy. What happened, and the fate of the passengers, is an unanswered question. The practices of the Greek coast guard: systematic human rights violations 11